FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia, Mayor’s Office
(802) 734-0617
HUD Public Affairs
(607) 994-8355
Mayor Miro Weinberger and HUD Announce Award of More Than $3.6 Million to Burlington Lead Program
The award will protect Vermont families from lead and other home health and safety hazards, and make low-income families’ homes safer and healthier
Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that HUD has awarded more than $3.6 million to the City of Burlington to help protect low-income children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards. The announcement took place at a home that is enrolled in the Burlington Lead Program.
With this funding, the City’s Burlington Lead Program will be able to address lead hazards in 110 homes that are occupied by low- and very low-income families with children. The program also will use this funding to conduct education, outreach, workforce development, and capacity-building within Burlington and Winooski, and leverage local resources to further protect the community from lead poisoning.
“All Burlington families deserve homes that are safe, healthy, and affordable,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Our Burlington Lead Program is a critical part of the City’s work to make that vision of a reality, and this award means that that work will continue. With this funding, the lead program team will keep working to prevent childhood lead poisoning, and also expand the scope of our program to address other housing safety and health issues faced by the most vulnerable members of our community. I am grateful to HUD for this award, to Vermont’s federal delegation for their support, and to CEDO and our Burlington Lead Program team for creating safer homes for Burlington families.”
“A healthy start at home translates to a successful life outside of the home,” said David Tille, HUD New England Regional Administrator. “We congratulate Mayor Weinberger and his team for their outstanding work to eradicate lead paint in Burlington homes. HUD is proud to be your partner in making Burlington homes safe for families and their kids.”
“Lead paint is a dangerous and invisible toxin that often hits us where we live: in our homes," said Senator Patrick Leahy. "I’ve been glad to partner with Burlington and other communities to make lead removal a priority. With the hard work of organizations like the Burlington Lead Program, its risk to children and families can be avoided. During this pandemic, we all are spending more time at home. Vermont has one of the oldest housing stocks in the country, and this funding is more important than ever to help ensure that people living in housing built before 1978 stay safe and healthy.”
“Burlington is full of historic homes with character, but every resident deserves to know that their house is safe from poisonous chemicals like lead that have not been used for many years,” said Congressman Peter Welch. “This award is wonderful news for the Burlington Lead Program to continue their mission of protecting families and children from exposure to lead in their homes.”
“Lead dust is invisible and causes the most harm in children’s growing bodies,” said Margaret Williams, Coordinator of the Burlington Lead Program. “Our program works to keep children safe from hazards that may be in their home by replacing windows, stabilizing paint, and other needed treatments. I invite members of the community to reach out to the Burlington Lead Program with any questions or concerns about home hazards, and our program currently is accepting applications.”
Funding Breakdown
The funding is made up of $3,093,992 from the Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction (LBPHR) Grant Program and $530,000 in Healthy Homes Supplemental Funding, and is part of HUD awards of $165 million across 44 state and local government agencies in 23 states, which will improve over 14,000 homes. The LBPHR program is designed to identify and clean up dangerous lead in low-income families’ homes, and the Healthy Homes Supplemental Funding is designed to help communities with housing-related health and safety hazards in addition to lead-based paint hazards.
The following is a breakdown of the funding announced today:
|
State |
Grantee |
Lead Hazard Control Amount |
Healthy Homes Amount |
Total Amount |
|
VT |
City of Burlington |
$3,093,992.44 |
$530,000 |
$3,623,992.44 |
About the Burlington Lead Program
The Burlington Lead Program is part of the City’s Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO), and was founded in 2003 with its first Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant from HUD. In the years since, the program has demonstrated a track record of high performance and innovative practice, receiving national awards, expanding its reach to neighboring Winooski, and helping to develop a culture of lead safety in Burlington. Over that time, the Burlington Lead Program has reduced lead hazards in 675 homes, completed evaluations in 889 homes, and been awarded over $13 million to address lead and other hazards in Burlington and Winooski homes.
The Burlington Lead Program works with property owners to reduce lead-based paint hazards at homes built prior to 1978 where the occupants earn less than 80 percent of the median income for Burlington, and also provides technical assistance and other free community resources to reduce lead poisoning and create safer and healthier homes. The most common ways to reduce lead hazards in people’s homes include in-kind window replacement, interior paint stabilization, and exterior stabilization and repainting. Learn more at www.burlingtonvt.gov/blp or call 802-865-LEAD (5323). The program is currently accepting applications for single-family homes and rental properties.
About HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes
HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards from lower-income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; supports cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards; and educates the public about the dangers of hazards in the home. Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today.
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